The first question fans had when Trajan Langdon took over as president of the Detroit Pistons was which young players he would deal away.
So far, the answer is none, as Langdon has opted to supplement his young core with veterans who can shoot and stay healthy rather than a major roster overhaul.
He’ll take the first half of next season to assess what he has and move from there, as this is a new regime, and Langdon doesn’t appear to feel compelled to build a winner right away to appease legitimately impatient supporters.
We should know a lot more by next season’s trade deadline, and by then, certain questions will have been answered or are well on their way to being answered.
The Detroit Pistons just awarded Cade Cunningham a max contract extension, so they’re hoping the answer is yes, but let’s be honest: the jury is still out.
I don’t dispute that Cunningham is a fantastic player, but can he lead a winning team, or even a respectable club? Nobody expects the Pistons to win 50 games next season, but with a better cast around him, it’s time for Cunningham to prove he can contribute to winning basketball, which he hasn’t done thus far.
How does that look like?
The Pistons need to win more games next season to go closer to 30 total victories, which is still not ideal but would be a step in the right direction.
Cade needs to be more efficient, improve his defense, and demonstrate that he can do more than simply put up empty stats on a terrible club.
He has a stronger roster around him, albeit it is still not terrific, so I don’t anticipate miracles here, but if the Pistons win another 20 games with a healthy Cade Cunningham, we need to start asking concerns.
This will be his fourth season, and great players find ways to win games and improve subpar clubs, which is what he must accomplish next season. But it’s not all on Cade.
